


4 a.m.

by tickles_tea



Category: Durarara!!
Genre: Cuddling, Izaya’s terrible sleep schedule, Literal Sleeping Together, M/M, Shizaya - Freeform, Tickling, Ticklish Heiwajima Shizuo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-05
Updated: 2020-02-05
Packaged: 2021-02-27 18:48:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22570510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tickles_tea/pseuds/tickles_tea
Summary: Being with Izaya meant harsh words, charming excuses, and sometimes even silence for days on end. But it also meant blinding smiles, thoughtful surprises, and the love that Shizuo thought he'd never experience. Izaya trusted him in a way no one else could and, because of that, Shizuo was willing to deal with the good and the bad sides of Izaya.This included his ability to stay up until the ass crack of dawn.
Relationships: Heiwajima Shizuo/Orihara Izaya
Comments: 4
Kudos: 74





	4 a.m.

“Shizu-chan…”

Shizuo jolted awake at the sound of an exhausted, and oddly soft, voice. Turning his head to the side, he was met with the half-lidded eyes and lopsided smirk of Orihara Izaya.

He frowned in confusion at their position. Just a second ago, Shizuo had been reclining against the headboard of the bed while he was waiting for Izaya to finish up his-rather unsavory-work. Now though, Shizuo was laying on his side, face partially buried in Izaya’s too soft pillows and staring into deep russet eyes.

_I didn’t even hear him come in. Goddamn sneaky flea..!_ Shizuo thought, a crease forming between his brows.

Izaya suddenly laughed, startling his companion slightly. “Of course you didn’t hear me come in, Shizu-chan! You were soundly asleep and snoring like a beast,” he said, amusement clear in his tone. Izaya’s comment made Shizuo realize that he had accidentally spoken his thoughts aloud, though he didn’t particularly care.

He was slightly surprised to find that Izaya’s words hadn’t ignited even the smallest spark of anger in his chest. It seemed that he was too tired to get annoyed over a remark so trivial, which was something he was secretly grateful for. After all, it was rather discouraging to succumb to the anger he hated so much because of something as stupid as an offhand comment.

Shizuo’s gaze shifted to Izaya’s mouth to see the insufferable smirk that he had been expecting despite his sleep muddled thoughts. He dazedly noticed that the left corner of Izaya’s lips curled upwards whenever he displayed this particular expression. However, there was something odd about it. The main difference he noted was the overall air of this sly smile. Usually, his grins were sharp and deadly, a threat and a promise at the same time. The expression he wore now seemed somewhat softer. Shizuo thought it might be the dark circles that hung beneath Izaya’s eyes or maybe even the little indents on either side of his nose from his reading glasses. Shizuo wasn’t able to determine the cause of this change before he felt a sharp tug on his hair.

Startled out of his observation, Shizuo blinked his eyes back into focus to see Izaya frowning. He looked like he was on the verge of being annoyed but was too tired to fully commit to the feeling. Continued silence from Shizuo prompted Izaya to speak up again. “Shizu-chan?”

Another, slightly harder, pull on his hair successfully awoke Shizuo from his dazed stupor. “I was asleep?” He grumbled, bringing a hand up to try to rub the lingering sleep from his eyes. Izaya let out a hum and nodded; the frown from before had eased and amusement danced in his eyes in place of the irritation. A thin hand gently carded through Shizuo’s hair, as if in silent apology for the tugging from before.

Shizuo sighed and leaned into the touch. Being with Izaya meant harsh words, charming excuses, and sometimes even silence for days on end. But it also meant blinding smiles, thoughtful surprises, and the love that Shizuo thought he’d never experience. Izaya trusted him in a way no one else could and, because of that, Shizuo was willing to deal with the good and the bad sides of Izaya. 

This included his ability to stay up until the ass crack of dawn.

“You know you don’t have to wait up for me, right? I told you I wouldn’t be done for a few more hours,” Izaya said, closing his eyes with a quiet sigh. “Tsukumoya was being more difficult than usual, so it took even longer than I anticipated.”

Izaya’s fingers were tracing random patterns through Shizuo’s hair and Shizuo’s face was one of peace and contentment. That expression, however, was replaced in favor of one with much more aggression. “Ah? He made you stay up ‘till three-”

“Four,” Izaya quickly corrected.

“'Til four in the morning,” Shizuo continued, frowning even harder than before. “I don’t care if he’s a UI or whatever-”

“AI.”

“I’ll kill him,” he said definitively and with a short nod. No one had the right to make Izaya get even less sleep than he normally did. They’d gotten into arguments about Izaya’s ridiculous sleep schedule before, and though they always ended with tired glares and waining patience on both ends, Shizuo still tried his damnedest to make sure Izaya got _at least_ five hours of uninterrupted sleep. If Shizuo remembered correctly, Izaya had a client coming over at seven in the morning and the flea always woke up well before his meetings.

What all of that means is that Izaya was probably already thinking about saying to hell with it and not sleeping at all, which was absolutely unacceptable.

“I can tell what you’re thinking, and it’s not that big of a deal. I can just take a nap after my client leaves and I’ll be well rested before my meeting with Shiki-san,” Izaya said breezily, moving his caressing fingers from Shizuo’s hair to behind his ear. He knew that if he didn’t diffuse this now it could lead to a fight, even if it’d only be a small one. “Shizu-chan is getting worked up too easily. Hey, I wonder if I can calm him down like a dog…” he mumbled to himself before scratching behind Shizuo’s ear gently. “Dogs like having their ears scratched so maybe beasts do too.”

Izaya, likely expecting a growl, was surprised when his action instead prompted a twitch and a gasp. He was even more baffled to see the glimpse of a smile curling at the sides of Shizuo’s mouth.

Being as clever as he was, Izaya caught on rather quickly and adopted a grin that promised nothing but trouble. Shizuo could practically feel the mischief radiating off of him in waves. “Is Shizu-chan a bit ticklish here? How cute!” Izaya laughed, snickering even more when he saw Shizuo’s blushing face.

Not nearly as amused, Shizuo reached up and firmly grasped the laughing bastard’s wrist. “Shut up and go to sleep.” He settled himself back into the pillow and, perhaps foolishly, released Izaya’s wrist. He hoped that his boyfriend would behave himself and see that they both needed to sleep. While it was understandable for one’s judgement to be impaired late at night, anyone in _any_ state of mind should know that Izaya Orihara should not be trusted.

So really, he shouldn’t have been so surprised when Izaya reached out again to skitter his fingers from behind Shizuo’s ear down to his collarbone.

Shizuo jerked back, but Izaya was as quick as ever and moved with him, hands never stopping their motion. They spidered all across his neck, around his ears, and even going as far as his shoulders.

Shizuo couldn’t stop the growly chuckles from escaping his lips even if he tried. He didn’t see the point in trying to hide his reactions. He’d only look like a fool if he were to deny that he was ticklish. It wasn’t something he was particularly ashamed of-after all, Izaya was much worse-but in the face of Izaya’s stupid smirk, he couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed. The bastard almost looked like he was looking down at Shizuo, like he was interacting with a child rather than his own boyfriend. The way he was teasing Shizuo did nothing to show otherwise.

“How pathetic! The strongest man in Ikebukuro is blushing like a schoolgirl! How does it feel when I touch here? Does it tickle?” Izaya was surely purring out more taunts, but Shizuo tried to drown them out with his own interjections of insults.

“Knock it off, you shihihitty flea!” He barked out around his laughter, trying to keep a grip on Izaya’s wrists that wasn’t too strong nor too loose. He’d instinctively reached up to still those terrible hands, but he’d managed to stop himself from pulling them away. There was no doubt in his mind that he was more than capable of putting a stop to this, and judging from the puzzled glint in Izaya’s eye, he knew the same.

So why wasn’t he?

It certainly couldn’t have anything to do with the genuine contentment he could see in Izaya’s eyes or the soft smile that was slowly replacing that intolerable smirk. Surely, Izaya was leeching the strength from his body with some sort of dark magic.

That dark magic must have been sapping Izaya’s own strength, because his wiggling fingers slowed and settled themselves across Shizuo’s nape. When Shizuo looked at his face, he saw flushed cheeks and an embarrassed pout.

“…'Zaya?” he questioned once he’d caught his breath, but his boyfriend remained quiet.

The only response he received was the blanket being tugged away as Izaya turned his body, his back now facing Shizuo. Shizuo’s brow twitched in annoyance at being so clearly ignored, but Izaya spoke up then. “Stupid Shizu-chan has no right making faces like that.”

“What are you talking about?” Shizuo asked, a little irritated at Izaya’s sudden mood change. He knew what he was getting into when he confessed to Izaya all those years ago, but time has not made it any easier to deal with him. _No amount of time_ would make it easier, he was sure.

A muffled groan sounded from Izaya’s side of the bed. Blush having faded for the most part, Izaya looked over his shoulder at Shizuo with a weak glare. “You’re so oblivious, it’s exhausting,” he said, opening his mouth as if to speak again. He hesitated for a second before continuing, albeit with some reluctance. “I mean beasts like you shouldn’t be allowed to look that cute. Now shut up and go to sleep,” he said, unintentionally mimicking Shizuo’s earlier words. “I’m tired.” Izaya turned away again and pulled more of the blanket away from Shizuo, probably out of spite.

Shizuo’s eyes widened at the compliment poorly disguised as an insult. Izaya was stingy with genuine compliments so it was surprising that he would say something like this so openly. The dismissal following it was obviously added as a cover up but perhaps there was some truth to it. After all, the only way he would’ve said such a thing would be because exhaustion had loosened his tongue. A quick look at the alarm clock on the nightstand showed that it was nearing 4:45 am.

Realizing that they both really needed to get to sleep-he hadn’t forgotten about Izaya’s early meeting-Shizuo decided to let him off easy. He could always bring up this moment later, so for now he just let out a soft chuckle and pulled Izaya’s body close against his chest.

“Yeah, alright. Goodnight, 'Zaya,” he murmured, lips brushing against the back of Izaya’s neck.

There was a beat of silence before he got a reply, quiet but content.

“Goodnight, Shizu-chan.”

**Author's Note:**

> If you’re interested in more stories like this, you can find me at https://tickles-tea.tumblr.com/ ^^


End file.
